June 2008

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The Friendly Series: Preamble

It is said that a hug is worth a thousand words, and a friend is worth more. It is said that friends are those who know plenty about you, and decide to like you anyway. It is said that friends are those who are there for you when they could rather be anywhere else. And, it is said that friends are the most important ingredients in life.

When you are young, friends were easy to come by: your father, your classmates, your neighbors – and anyone who is willing to be your playmate. As time passes, and as we grow, friendship might have taken on new meanings. But, at the heart of friendship is a pair who will partake in one another’s life: sometimes towards encouragement, sometimes to catch each other from falling, and many a times yielding a wealth of influence.

With that preamble, the next series of postings are dedicated to the most influential friends in my life: friends who knew plenty about me, but gave their hugs anyway.

Meet DK

Well, meet DK. Of all the friends I met in my university career, it is difficult to think of one who wielded more influence. We met during a BBQ hosted by Campus Crusades. He had a volleyball with him, and at that time, I was very much into the sport. Without hesitation, I offered to rally with him. Before we knew, we mingled like old friends. I learned that he too was a scholarship holder like I, except having graduated from high school one year before I did. From then on, I often looked up to him when it came to academic achievements. He was probably the most important reason why I had done as well as I did in my undergraduate studies.

But that was not why he became a most influential friend. For that, we ought to turn to my growth as a Christian. Every time I met him, every time we talked, not many phrases would be exchanged before he'd say, with a big smile: praise the Lord! I would often see him with a Bible in hand. More importantly, he treated everyone around him oh so well. Even when we played volleyball, he'd praise the Lord, with that big smile of his. Sometimes, I'd do poorly or well on the court, and he'd come over with a big hug and a pat on the back. Whenever you are beside him, you could just feel that he is in Christ, that he is living out Christ, and that he is sharing the love of Christ with everyone around him.

As the good Lord would have it. We also ended up working together for some time. We often spent our lunch hour together, followed by ping pong. I saw him through a fairy tale of a relationship, learned of his passion for intercontinental travels, and we exchanged ideas from career ambitions, to investments, to romance, and to spiritual growth.

He would often say to me. Tai, do you know whom you remind me of the most in the Bible? Daniel -- you are so much like him! I would think to myself, gosh, you know, it is all because of your good influence! The fact is, before meeting DK, I had kept Christ mostly to myself. But, this good friend of mine, he helped me blend Christ into my everyday life, into my everyday speech, so that I not only have Christ in me, but am also beginning to live Him out. Come to think, in my life, there may not be many other changes in outlook that are farther reaching than this.